Genesis
3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Because Adam and Eve were clothed with "skins", it follows that an animal was killed. The understanding is that each person that sinned, both Adam and Eve, had to kill an animal as a "sin offering". The Lord then used the skins of these animals to make clothing for each person.
Some have asked, "Why did God use both killing and blood as part of the Sacrificial System?" The answer is that God hates sin because of what it does to His creation and He wants the sinner to come to hate sin as much as He does. How could there be a better way for the sinner to realize that sin is the cause of death than to see both the cause and effect? (See Romans 6:23)
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In the Bible the sacrificial system was established in order to illustrate how God was going to solve the problem of sin. At the center of the service was the blood of the sacrificial animal. The life of the animal was poured out so that the life of the repentant sinner could be saved. The animal was a symbol of Jesus, who would give His life in place of ours. When repentant sinners brought their sacrifices to the Lord, they were acknowledging that they were sinners who deserved death. But they also were manifesting faith, trusting that the Lord would grant them forgiveness by accepting the life of the sacrificial victim in their stead. Assuming responsibility for our sin is indispensable (this is known as repentance and confession). Only those who, in the light of the Cross, see themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness and humbly find in Christ the Lamb of God that takes away their sin will experience cleansing. A lot of symbolism is found in the biblical sacrificial system. First, because the death of an animal stood for the death of the individual, the sacrificial act was an act of salvation, a manifestation of God’s grace and love. He was willing to accept the death of another creature in order to preserve the life of humans and to continue fellowshipping with them. Second, according to the Bible, the life of an animal could not really atone for the life of a sinner; consequently, the death of sacrificial victims had a symbolic function only. It pointed beyond itself to the death of the Seed of the woman, Jesus, who would give His life as a ransom in place of many (Mark 10:45). Third, the killing of the sacrificial animal also illustrated the seriousness of sin and the costliness of forgiveness. Taking the life of an animal must have been very painful to Adam and Eve; probably to most Israelites, as well. The process helped them understand that sin is inseparable from death and that forgiveness is not the same as overlooking sin. The price God will pay for our redemption will be the “precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet. 1:19, NIV). At the moment sin entered into the world, God instituted a sacrificial system that had these symbolic and teaching functions. The first sacrifice that Adam and Eve offered was a wonderful explosion of hope in the coming Redeemer, a hope offered in the midst of the pain of guilt and death. "The atonement is the biblical doctrine around which all others revolve." The Doctrine of Atonement |